Sheet-feeder.



Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R. S. PAYNE.

SHEET FEEDER.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNI: 2o, 1911.

R. S. PAYNE.

SHEET FEEDER.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2o, 1911.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

@mgm

OHAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

ROBERT S. PAYNE, OF MONESSEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHEET-FEEDER.

Application filed June 20, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. Renner S. PAYNE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Monessen, in the county of lVestmoreland and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements inSheet-Feeders, of which the following is a specification.

One object of the invention is to facili tate the operation of feeding,to a shear. a sheet of metal7 such as tin to be subdivided into sheetsor plates of a uniform and required length, and to this end theinvention broadly consists in a bed of rolls for supporting the sheetand means for moving the sheet step by step over the bed of rolls and tothe shear.

Other objects will appear and be better understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the device. Fig. 2 is aplan view. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts inanother position. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of thedevice. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the locking mechanism. Fig. 6 isa detail longitudinal section of the same.

The lower frame 5 of the support a. carries a bed of rolls 6 arranged instaggered relation and in longitudinal rows as shown in Fig. 2. Therolls 6 of eachrow are spaced apart and the space below adjacent rollsin each row is filled with a plate 7 having shouldered side walls 8which are received by longitudinal rebates 9 in stringers 10 extendinglongitudinally of the lower frame, the said stringers 10 formingbearings for the trunnions 11 of the rolls 6.

l The uprights 12 of the support a carry the upper frame 13 the ends ofwhich support the track rails 14. The follower b comprises a bodyportion 15 having at its opposite ends flanged wheels 16 which move onthe track rails 14. The follower has a depending portion 17 which may beof any suitable construction. For purposes of illustration I have shownthis depending portion as consisting of opposite sides 18 and 1f)fixedly secured at their upper ends in any preferred manner such as byrivets 20 to opposite sides of the body 15, the lower ends of said sidesextending below the upper sides of the intermediate stringers 10 asshown in Fig. 4. Referring to the last named figure it will be seen thatthe Stringer Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

sei-iai No. 634,260.

ends of the rolls 6 in the outer rows 21 are reduced and elongated asshown at 22 thus affording a space for the lower end portions of thesides 18 and 19 as the follower moves on the track rails 14 for apurpose hereinafter described.

An operating handle c is adapted to cooperate with spaced beveled teeth23 on the body portion 15 of the follower to move the latter step bystep or intermittently on the track rails 14. Any preferred constructionof operating handle may be employed for accomplishing this result and inthe embodiment shown in the drawings the handle c consists of twosections 24 and 25. The Section 25 has a cross bar or axle 26 at one endthereof which supports flanged wheels 27 which run in oblong openings 28formed in the opposite sides of the upper frame 13. A dog 29 has arecessed portion 30 receiving the inner end ot' the section 25 and isconnected thereto in any preferred manner such as by a pivot 31.. Thepivotal movement of the dog is limited in one direction by means ofstops 32 and il?, carried by the dog and inner end of the section 25respectively. In its normal position the dog 29 extends substantiallyvertically downward and into the plane of the higher ends of the teeth23. A second dog 34 is herein shown as pivoted to a depending lugarranged to the rear of the dog 29. iVhen the dogs 29 and 34 are intheir normal positions the distance between their lower ends will be atrifle greater than the length of any of the teeth 23 for a purposehereinafter described. of the section 24 is recessed as shown at 36 inFig. 2 and receives the recessed upper end of a link 37. A rock shaft S8is journaled in the upper ends of vertical ears 39 and 40 carried by thesection 25 as shown in'Figs. 1. 2, and A crank 41 connects at one endwith the rock shaft 38 and its opposite end with a pivot pin 43 whichpasses through the crank, section 24 and link 37. A connecting rod 44connects at one end with the dog 29 and at its opposite end with thepivot pin 43. The lower end of the link 37 connects with the dog 34 andas shown this link 37 passes through a slot 45 formed in the section 25and is surrounded by a thrust spring 46 which serves to project the dog34 downwardly. A link 47 connects at its opposite end portions with thefree end portions of the sections 24 and 25. The latter section 25 bearson the end piece 48 of the upper frame The inner end p as shown in Fig.2, and when the sections 24 and 25 are in their normal positions asshown in Fig. 1 the inner end portion of the section 24 bears on therock shaft 38.

Assuming that the parts are positioned as shown in Fig. 1 and a sheet ofmetal is arranged on the bed of rolls 6 and the lower end portions ofthe sides 18 and 19 bearing on the inner end of the sheet. `W hen thesection 25 is pulled by grasping the upturned end portion 48 thereof thedog 29 will abut against the higher end of the end tooth 23. It mighthere be stated that at the beginning of this movement the wheels 2T willbe at the end of the openings 28 farthest from the front of the machineor that nearest to the shear, a fragment of which is shown in Fig. 3 anddesignated by the numeral 49. Moreover the length of the openings 28will correspond approximately to the length of plates to be cut from themetal sheet. So that with a continued pull on the upturned end portion48 the sections 24 and 25 will move outwardly until the wheels 27contact with the ends of the openings 28. During this outward movementof the handle c the follower will, of course, have moved a distanceequal to the length of the openings 28 whereby a portion of the stripequal in length to the distance through which the follower has movedwill be projected through the shear. rlhe distance between any two ofthe teeth is such that after the follower has been moved as previouslydescribed and the handle c returned to its first position the dog 29will be behind the next adjacent tooth so that when the handle is pulledas previously described t-he succeeding movement of the follower will beequal in lengt-h to the first movement previously described and so onfor the number of teeth on the follower.

It will be observed that, normally, or before outward movement of thehandle c, the dog 29 will be spaced from the Ahigher end of the adjacenttooth so that when the handle c is pulled outwardly it will have moved adistance equal to the width of this space before the dog contacts withthe adjacent tooth. It will be further observed that when the dogs arein their normal positions as just described the dog 34 will bear on thelower end portion of a tooth so that during the lost motion of thehandle due to the space previously described the dog 34 will move awayfrom the tooth. By virtue of the dog 34 bearing on one end of the rtoothit will be seen that the follower may be moved in a direction away fromthe shear 49. This will be found very advantageous when the dependingportion 17 fails for any reason to move the sheet such as when it slipstherefrom, in which event it will be seen that by moving the handle cinwardly the follower will be returned to its original position andready to make a new grip when the handle is pulled outwardly.

By virtue of the clearance which normally exists between the dog 29 andend of the adjacent tooth it will be seen that at the end of an outwardpull on the handle the dogs 29 and 34 may be lifted above the plane ofthe tooth 23 by pulling on the upturned end 50 of the section 24 asshown in Fig. 3, it being understood that before this upward pull ismade the handle is moved inwardly until the dog 34 engages with the endof the adjacent tooth whereby the clearance previously stated will behad betweenthe dog 29 and opposite end of said tooth, this clearance ofcourse will be suflicient to permit the said dog 29 to move upwardlywithout contacting with the tooth.

After the sheet has been subdivided the depending portion of thefollower will be moved to that end of the machine adjacent to the shearand in order to hold the dogs clear of the teeth while the follower isbeing pushed to the opposite end portion of the machine by a new sheetpassed over the bed of rolls, 1 make use of a pair of keepers 51 and 52attached to the upturned end portions 48 and 50 respectively. The keeper51 is fixedly secured to the upturned end portion 48 while the keeper 52is pivoted to the upturned end portion 50 and is arranged in alinementwith the keeper 51, so that when the section 24 is pulled upwardly aspreviously described the keeper 52 will rock and engage with the keeper51 whereby inward movement of the section 24 will be prevented. Forguiding the section 24 in its movement l make use of a loop 53, whichembraces the upturned end portions 48 and 50, the said loop beingpivoted at one end as shown at 54 to the upturned end portion 50 andhaving its opposite sides slotted as shown in detail in Fig. 6 andidesignated by 55, the said slotted portions receiving the opposite endsof a pin 56 extending through the upturned end portion 48.

Although 1 have shown and described one embodiment of the device it isto be understood that I am not to be limited to the specic structureherein shown and described nor to the particular arrangement of parts,since it will be seen that changes may be made in the scope of theappended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

`What I claim as new is:

1. ln a device for feeding metal sheets to a shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of sheet moving means adapted vtoengage a sheet positioned on the support, and bodily movable means formoving the sheet moving means for the purpose described.

2. 1n a device for feeding metal sheets to a shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of bodily movable sheet moving meansadapted to engage a sheet positioned on the support, and bodily movablemeans for moving the sheet moving means.

3. In a device for feeding metal sheets to a shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of bodily movable sheet moving meansadapted to engage a sheet positioned on the support, and reciprocatingmeans for moving the sheet moving means predetermined distances for thepurpose described.

4. In a device for feeding metal sheets to a shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of sheet moving means adapted toengage a sheet positioned on the support, a series of projections on thesheet moving means, and bodily movable means for engaging saidprojections successively for the purpose described.

5. In a device for feeding metal sheets to a shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of sheet movingmeans adapted toengage a sheet positioned on the support, a series of projections on thesheet moving means, and bodily movable means including a lpivotedelement adapted to over-ride said projections successively when moved inone direction and interlock therewith when moved in the oppositedirection.

6. In a device for feeding metal sheets to a`shear, the combination witha support for the sheet to be fed; of sheet moving means adapted toengage a sheet positioned on the support, a series of teeth on the sheetmoving means, and bodily movable means including pivoted elementsadapted to clamp any of said teeth for the purpose described.

7. In a device of the class described, in

combination with a track; of a wheeled follower arranged thereon aplurality of teeth on the follower, and means for engaging said teethsuccessively for the purpose described.

8. In a device of the class described, in combination with a track; of awheeled follower arranged thereon, a plurality of teeth on the follower,and reciprocating means for engaging said teeth successively for thepurpose described.

9. In a device of the class described, in combination with a support,and a track thereon; of a follower including a wheeled portion arrangedon the track, and a depending portion sliding on the support, and meansfor 'moving the follower step by step for the purpose described.

10. In a device of the class described, in combination with a support,and a track thereon; of a reciprocating follower including a wheeledportion arranged on the track, teeth on the wheeled portion, a dependingportion sliding on the support, and means for engaging the teethsuccessively for the purpose described.

1l. In a device of the class described, in combination with a supportand a wheeled follower arranged thereon and teeth on the follower; of anoperating handle having means arranged in the path of the teeth andadapted to engage opposite portions of a tooth, and means for moving thetooth engaging means out of the path of the said teeth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.Y

ROBERT S. PAYNE.

Witnesses D. IV. GoULn, E. EoMoNs'roN, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

